Welcome to House Love!

In 2000, we bought "as is" a 4500 square-foot, Baltimore Victorian brownstone that had been wrecked by a fraternity. Jill and I had been dating for only six months. We knew nothing about fixing old houses. It was a recipe for disaster. This website tells the story of our efforts to make our love work as we made our old house whole again.
In 2003, we got married in the house. In 2008, THIS OLD HOUSE magazine did a feature about us. Our old house adventure continues. We update our site weekly, with major additions quarterly. So sign up for our email notifications, drop us a line, and keep in touch!
Yours warmly, Ron & Jill

What's New in Late Fall 2014!

Jill: We have a new website coming-- with better navigation and more interactive features: watch for it next year!

Ron: We've been really busy this year with all kinds of home improvements, starting with the installation of stained glass on the first floor!

Jill: We've been shopping for rugs this year and have had some good luck. Here's my advice about finding the best rug for your old house Jill's Notebook

Quick Thumbnail Navigation

What Was New in Spring 2014!

Jill: Ron has finally gotten off the road. He's been traveling for two years off and on -- in his super custom camper van with Cleo -- and he's met all kinds of great people, seen all kinds of great old houses and buildings, given talks at more than 80 cities, and come back with hours and hours of images and interviews for his Preservation America project.

Ron: For the next few years I'll be editing the videos Jill mentioned -- I have well over 100 interviews with old house owners, historic pereservation experts, and other people who are passionate about making the most of old buildings. You can find them here: Preservation America.

Jill: Recently, I helped a friend make a coat rack like the one in our hallway. I'll tell you all about it here Jill's Notebook

Ron: We've just completed another how-to video. This one is about fixing a drippy faucet, a really common household problem. How to Fix a Drippy Faucet

Jill: Here are our answers to a new round of questions from our readers: House Love Q and A

Ron: Light-crazy Jill has some advice about getting great house lights on the cheap: Jill's Notebook

Jill: Ron is about to hit the road again. He'll be doing talks in the following cities: Charlottesville, VA; Winston-Salem, NC; Mobile, AL; Houston, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio, TX; Fresno, CA; Santa Rosa, CA; Eugene, OR; and more. Go to Ron's From Animal House to Our House page for complete tour info. Ron has been to 44 states and nearly 100 cities, giving his humorous talk along the way. If you want him to visit your town, let him know!

What Was New in Summer 2013!

Jill: We want to welcome Trent, of "Blood, Sweat, & Pigs Ears" and David and Chelle Fuller, of the "Going Dutch Colonial Style," to our Your House spotlight page. If you'd like to showcase a project you're doing, send us some photos and a paragraph about them. We'd love to see your work!

Ron: I just spent a couple of weeks upgrading all of our bathroom sinks and faucets. Upgrading for us means getting just the right old stuff, like circa 1900 marble sinks and toilets. You can see this work on our new page: bathrooms.

Jill: We have added new, updated photos on most pages because 1) Ron got a better camera (with a wide angle lens) and 2) we do new work on the house every year. So take a look especially at the first floor for some new shots and the library too.

Ron: We've improved and expanded our website navigation. Take a look to your upper left and you'll see a table of contents and, below, in the middle of the page is our thumbnail navigation.

Ron: I have filmed more than 150 interviews of people involved with preservation -- everybody from DIY homeowners to directors of national organizations. I will continue gathering interviews this year as I travel the nation.
You can find this documentary project here: Preservation America

Ron: I have filmed more than 100 interviews of people involved with preservation -- everybody from DIY homeowners to directors of national organizations. I will continue gathering interviews this year as I travel the nation. If you know of someone with an interesting project, let me know.
Here's a featured video of a rescued and restored Modern house masterpiece: Saved: The Rauh House.

This year, our garden has come back to full flower. For the past two years, it suffered under the over-use by our stubborn basset hound, Cleo. She tour it up! But this year we have fenced Cleo out of the raised beds! And, I'm excited to announce that we've brought the frogs back to our little pond! So there's lots to see in our lovely back yard!

Ron: Check out Jill's notebook for our latest featured project: privacy windows that will class up your house.

Jill: Ron is now in business as a licensed house inspector. He also does consultations, like visiting your house to give you advice about what is and isn't do-able and cost-effective. Here's his business site.

What Was New in Winter 2013!

Ron: I have started posting video interviews of old-house owners and preservationists on the Preservation America website, a doscumentary project I began during my cross-country travels last year. This is an ongoing project aimed at capturing the big picture of preservation in America. The first featured video is about the restoration of the Modernist Rauh house in Cincinnati. It's cool stuff. Check it out.

Jill: Ron has published an article -- "Preserving America" -- in the latest issure of the Alliance Review, for the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions (NAPC). He offers an overview of the things he saw on his big road trip last year. I saw some of these things too!

Ron will be traveling more this year to promote the paperback edition of From Animal House to Our House. He's also going to interview many more people for Preservation America. He'll be in the South in May, Midwest in June, and New England in the fall.

Ron: Check out Jill's notebook for our latest featured project: restoration of the servants' hallway. It was something of an ordeal but came out great.

What Was New in Fall 2012?

Ron: It's been a hectic summer and now autumn: jill and I have undertaken a number of projects around the house. One of them involves old wall paper. Jill talks about this in her Notebook: "What's With the Wallpaper!"

Jill: Ron is still traveling around giving his hilarious talk (with an awesome slide show), so if you have an organization or book club that would like him to visit, just let him know. We met a number of our Houselove readers on the road and that was great!
This video trailer gives you an idea of what Ron's talk is like: From Animal House to Our House video trailer
Ron, now a licensed house inspector, also gives workshops
on various how-to topics.

Ron: Our DIY super-custom camper van did great on its 10,000 journey! You can find all the van videos here: The Houselove Camper Van!

Jill: We've added House Love to Facebook, so now if you want news and updates, we'll be putting them there for you FB fans. Check it out: House Love on Facebook And please "like" it -- thank you!

What Was New in Spring/Summer 2012?

Jill: Ron is on the road, finishing up the first leg of his book tour. He went clear down to New Orleans. Cleo, our bassett hound, went with him! You can read more about his trip if you go to his blog page. I'm going to join him in the West, which will be very exciting because I've seen only California. We'll drive up to Oregon and Washington, then to Montana and Wyoming.
If you haven't seen it, here's the video trailer for the book. From Animal House to Our House video trailer
You can buy a copy -- signed just for you -- right here: the Houselove Shop

Ron: At last my camper van is finished, more or less. I'm making a few modifications as the van gets tough-tested on the road. Did I tell you I blew up the water tank? New van videos are coming: The Houselove Camper Van!

Jill: Ron needs your support -- and he'd love to meet you. If you're anywhere near any of these cities, come out and see him give his very funny, entertaining talk: Ron's 66-city tour

Ron: I've been working on my camper van conversion in preparation for my 66 city tour. It's a huge project that incorporates everything I know about house renovation and more: The Houselove Camper Van!

Jill: we finished my office! OMG, it took us eight months and included everything from stripping wall paper to running new electricy and building custom cabinets. I beleive it's the best room in the house. There's even a huge antique cabinet for my Steiff collection
I t hink Ron is jealous!
Jill's Office.

Ron: I am now a licensed house inspector, after having taken the 80-hour course, then the 4-hour exam, and then gotten my insurance. I still have to build a website for the business. I'm excited to get into this line of work. The next time you buy a house, give me a call!

Jill: Ron bought a Sprinter van to convert into a camper van. It's a huge project! So we've added a van page to chart the progress: The Houselove Camper Van!

Ron: I will be touring the country next summer to promote my book, From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story. If you belong to a preservation society or live in a historic neighborhood or an organization that might like me to visit, let me know!

Jill: We're nearly done with my office! It's taking FOREVER but it's going to be great. We're making some how-to videos about it. Here's a peek at our progress:Jil's Office.

Ron: I'm taking a course to get certified as a licensed House Inspector! This has been a dream of mine because I want to know all about how houses work.

Jill: We'd like to welcome a new old house lover, Sheryl O'Donnel to our Your House page.

Ron: We've added some new gifts to our shop -- expanding its offerings. Check it out!>>>

Jill: BIG NEWS! Ron's book -- telling the story of how we bought and renovated our house and still managed to stay in love and get married -- has just been accepted for publication!br />
Release date will be sometime next year. If you have a local bookstore or reading club you'd like Ron to visit, let him know! In the meantime, take a look at the first chapter of FROM ANIMAL HOUSE TO OUR HOUSE: A LOVE STORY >>>

Ron: Jill came up with a great idea for a coat rack -- just in time for winter. Check it out in Jill's notebook